-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Maria Sharapova 's wait for another WTA Tour title must continue after the four-time grand slam champion suffered a shock defeat in the semifinals of the Paris Open on Saturday .

Top seed Sharapova would have moved back to fourth in the world rankings by winning her 30th career crown this weekend , but was beaten 4-6 6-3 6-4 by fellow Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova .

`` I started the match really well , but as the match continued I was n't doing the things that really helped me in the first set , '' said 2012 French Open champion Sharapova , who returned to the tour in January after missing the final third of last season with a shoulder injury .

`` I was n't being aggressive , I was n't in the court -- she was playing with a lot of confidence in the match and I gave her that opportunity to play her game . ''

Since requiring shoulder surgery back in 2008 , Sharapova has struggled for consistency with her serve , and that was apparent in Melbourne when she lost in the last 16 to eventual runner-up Dominika Cibulkova , and again in the French capital .

The 26-year-old , whose last tournament win came last April in Stuttgart , ended the match with two double-faults .

`` They obviously came at the wrong time , '' said Sharapova , who heads to her former home of Sochi on Sunday to start her role as a TV commentator at Russia 's first Winter Olympics .

`` When I was down in games in the first couple of sets I felt my serve really helped me , but in the third set I did n't keep that level up . I definitely need to improve that percentage going forward . ''

Pavlyuchenkova , ranked 26th , will next take on either Sara Errani at the indoor event as she seeks the sixth WTA title of her career -- but first in a Premier-level event .

`` I had to serve well -- I had no choice today , because Maria has one of the best returns on the tour , '' she said .

`` We played a few years ago and she broke me a lot of times . ''

Errani , beaten by Sharapova in the 2012 final at Roland Garros , battled to a 7-6 -LRB- 7-3 -RRB- 3-6 7-6 -LRB- 7-5 -RRB- win over Alize Cornet in just over three hours after the Frenchwoman battled back from 5-3 down in the decider .

Meanwhile , a weakened Serbian men 's team crashed out the Davis Cup in the first round on Saturday , losing 3-0 to a Switzerland side bolstered by the presence of 17-time grand slam champion Roger Federer and Australian Open winner Stanislas Wawrinka .

The Swiss did n't need to field their star duo in the doubles , in which Marco Chiudinelli and Michael Lanmer beat Nenad Zimonjic and Filip Krajinovic 7-6 -LRB- 7-3 -RRB- 3-6 7-6 -LRB- 7-2 -RRB- 6-2 .

The Serbs , beaten by the Czech Republic in December 's 2013 final , were missing rested world No. 2 Novak Djokovic , the injured Janko Tipsarevic and Viktor Troicki -- who is serving a ban for missing a drug test last year .

Germany also won 3-0 , eliminating a Spain team missing world No. 1 Rafael Nadal , resting after suffering a back injury in his Melbourne final defeat against Wawrinka .

France beat Australia by the same margin , while the Czechs took a 2-1 lead against the Netherlands as Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek won their doubles rubber in four sets against Robin Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer .

Japan went 2-1 up against Canada , while Belgium reduced the deficit to the same score away to Kazakhstan .

In the other World Group first-round ties , Britain led the U.S. 2-0 after Friday 's singles matches while Argentina and Italy were 1-1 .

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World No. 5 Maria Sharapova loses to compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in French event

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Pavlyuchenkova will play Sara Errani or Alize Cornet in Sunday 's final

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In men 's Davis Cup , 2013 runner-up Serbia loses 3-0 to Switzerland in first round

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Spain and Australia also exit by the same margin , losing to Germany and France